A FORMER heroin addict who carried out a laser attack on a police helicopter flying above Birmingham has been told to expect a prison sentence.

Judge John Maxwell gave Joshua Bough the warning after rejecting the 28-year-old’s account that he had accidentally shone the beam into the air while trying to attract the attention of his dog.

Bough, of St Benedicks Road, Small Heath, had previously admitted endangering the safety of an aircraft but in a basis of plea claimed the shining of the laser at the helicopter had not been a deliberate act.

The judge said: “The helicopter was flying at about 100 knots and about 1,300ft above the ground. If that laser beam had in fact hit that pilot’s eyes he would probably have been disabled and the helicopter might well have crashed with two crew members in it.”

Judge Maxwell said Bough’s story that he had been shaking the laser pen to get it to work did not ring true and that it was inconsistent with CCTV footage.

Pilot Trevor Tiller said he had been flying towards Birmingham Airport above Small Heath at about 10.25pm on March 28 this year when he saw the green light.

He said he immediately averted his eyes and warned the two observers not to look at it.

The pilot said that Birmingham was a “hotspot” for laser attacks and that he had experienced five previous attacks. He said that the green light could potentially damage the retina.

Bough told the court he and his girlfriend had left a friend’s home and that his Alsatian puppy had run off. He said he used the laser pen to attract the dog’s attention because sometimes it would get lost and confused in the dark.

Christopher Lester, prosecuting, at Birmingham Crown Court said cameras on the helicopter were able to track Bough and his girlfriend as they walked home.

Neil Davis, for Bough, said he had had a long-term heroin addiction and that he took methadone on a voluntary basis. Judge Maxwell said it was “plainly a custodial case” and adjourned sentence until August 15 for reports. The defendant was allowed bail.